


Caught in the Middle

by tatoeba



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Canon, I Don't Even Know, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-17
Updated: 2014-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-28 23:53:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10842093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatoeba/pseuds/tatoeba
Summary: Kyungsoo most definitely did not sign up to deal with hopelessly in love roommates and yet. Here he is.





	Caught in the Middle

**Author's Note:**

> For [this prompt](http://exopromptmeme.livejournal.com/13835.html?thread=6934027#t6934027) on EPM. It’s been awhile since I’ve really written anything and this just practically wrote itself today. I’m sorry if it’s not really what you were expecting, OP, but thank you for the fun prompt anyway. I hope you like even a little!!

As one of the more quieter members of the group, Kyungsoo is usually more observant than active, preferring to let the other members (mostly Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Jongdae) wreck havoc rather than joining in. But sometimes being a bystander is more troublesome than Kyungsoo would like, and that's especially true in the case of his two stupid roommates.

You'd think after all the sudden hair changes they go through, Chanyeol would be more equipped with dealing with Jongin's new hair color, but alas. The second he walks into the room after his appointment, sporting newly dyed bright, platinum blond hair, Chanyeol nearly drops his guitar off his bed.

"That bad?" Jongin asks, looking small and uncertain and fiddling with his bangs.

Kyungsoo, speaking for himself, and probably Chanyeol too, who seems to have lost his voice, says, "It looks nice. It suits you."

Chanyeol nods then, his still-black hair flopping into his face because Chanyeol's not due for his upgrade for a few days. Jongin looks at Chanyeol curiously, like he didn't even hear what Kyungsoo said. When Chanyeol adds, clearly having regained his brain cells, "You'd probably look good with any hair color," Jongin gives him a tiny smile before quickly turning on his heel and rushing out of the room.

Chanyeol sighs after him, longingly and sad, and Kyungsoo wonders how things became like this.

 

 

 

At first, it was kind of cute. Chanyeol's total crush and Jongin's affection inexpertly masked as indifference. Being roommates meant that Kyungsoo was stuck between Chanyeol's hopeless flirting and Jongin's flustered face but yeah, it wasn't that bad. They all still had fun together and sometimes, when Jongin was in one of his moods, Chanyeol would tone down the affection and they could all curl up on Kyungsoo's bed and watch a movie or something.

It didn't take long before it was clear that Kyungsoo was definitely caught between Chanyeol and Jongin's nauseating middle-school pigtail pulling romance. If it could even be called a romance. Kyungsoo wasn't sure what it was, just that it was disgusting.

And now. _Now,_ with Jongin's new hair, it's like some switch has been flipped inside the part of Chanyeol's brain that's specifically reserved for Kim Jongin, because all Chanyeol ever does is look like he wants to reach out and touch his hair. And probably other, more upsetting things Kyungsoo doesn't want to think about.

"He looks soooo hot, Kyungsoo," Chanyeol wails to him one evening, and even though he's practically got his face in a pillow, his voice is loud enough for Kyungsoo to hear from across the room. “I mean, he's always been hot, but this. Hair? It's just? Really good???"

"And what, exactly, do you want me to do about this?" Kyungsoo asks, deadpan.

Chanyeol lifts his head from his pillow to give Kyungsoo wide, imploring eyes that could really rival his own. "Make him...not hot?"

Kyungsoo snorts. "The next stupid thing you say is gonna get you a punch to the face," he says, turning back to the script for his movie that he'd been trying to read when Chanyeol had barged into the room. He wonders if maybe he should take out that stick from under his bed just to emphasize his point when Chanyeol is whining loudly and practically throwing himself off his bed and into Kyungsoo's.

"Don't be so mean!" he exclaims, fisting his hands into Kyungsoo's shirt. "I'm having a Jongin _crisis_."

Kyungsoo wants to say that everyday of Chanyeol's life seems to be a Jongin Crisis, when the door suddenly opens and Jongin walks in. He doesn't make it far before he freezes, his hand still on the doorknob and his eyes widening as he takes in Chanyeol practically lying atop of Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo wants to laugh because _of course_ Jongin walks in, because Kyungsoo's life has become an anime somewhere over the course of the past few days. And really, it shouldn't be surprising at all in this group when someone is always over someone else, Lu Han practically sitting on Minseok's lap every day or Zitao clinging to Sehun like he's a particularly comfortable pillow, but Jongin looks momentarily surprised, then devastated, and then embarrassed, all within a span of two seconds.

"Oh, sorry--I--didn't know you were-uh, busy, I'll just--go--" he mumbles and he's gone before either of them can say anything else.

Chanyeol's responding cry of anguish really doesn't help one bit.

 

 

 

"How do they go from being so hot and cold all the time?" Kyungsoo mutters under his breath, eyeing the couch where Jongin is leaning against Chanyeol and Chanyeol happily has his fingers in Jongin's hair, gently caressing his scalp like he's been whining about doing for ages (though it's only been maybe two days). Just earlier that day Jongin had been skirting around Chanyeol, probably because of what he'd walked in on last night, and now...

"You say that like we aren't exactly the same," Baekhyun says beside him, grinning wide around a giant mouthful of pizza.

Kyungsoo doesn't even bother to deign him with a glance. "Our relationship is constantly _cold_ ," he says and Baekhyun laughs, loudly, and he has pizza sauce on his face and he is just as disgusting as Chanyeol and Jongin, but worse.

His laughter seems to have startled Chanyeol and Jongin, too, because Jongin is suddenly tearing away from Chanyeol like he's burned him, his hand flying up to his hair where Chanyeol had been touching. His face is red and he suddenly scampers off the couch and down the hall, their bedroom door slamming shut seconds later. Chanyeol is staring at the spot Jongin just vacated with a kicked puppy look on his face and Kyungsoo wonders if it's possible for two people to get any stupider.

"They're adorable," Baekhyun says, chewing obnoxiously, and Kyungsoo doesn't hesitate before landing a punch to his stomach.

 

 

 

"You know, if you like him, you could just tell him," Kyungsoo says as gently as he can because while most of EXO drives him nuts, Jongin is a cute kid and Kyungsoo tries not to be too mean to him.

Jongin, if possible, turns an even brighter shade of pink than he was when he first walked in and said he needed to talk to Kyungsoo. About Chanyeol. He buries his face in his hands and mutters, "I don't think I can do that."

"Sure you can," Kyungsoo says. "He's practically in love with you anyway--" Jongin makes a whimpering sound between horrified and gleeful, "--so it really shouldn't be a problem."

"You make it sound so easy."

"It _is_ easy, Jongin," Kyungsoo sighs. He's starting to lose his patience. He's already talked to Chanyeol _again_ this morning about his endless Jongin-feelings and now he has to deal with Jongin's side too. Kyungsoo didn't fucking sign up for this sort of thing when he joined SM.

"No! It's not!!" Jongin exclaims, finally dropping his hands and giving Kyungsoo a panicked look. "If it was, I would have already said something."

Kyungsoo 100% does not believe him. Maybe it shows on his face, because Jongin cowers, flushing, and amends, "Okay, maybe...maybe not. But still. It's not easy. Not when he's being even more...touchy...than usual."

"It's the hair," Kyungsoo says because he doesn't care about giving away some of Chanyeol's secrets.

"My hair?" Now Jongin just looks confused.

Kyungsoo is going to lock them both in one of the vans soon, and then push the van into the Han River. "I mean, he's touchy because he likes you. A lot. Like a disgusting amount."

Jongin pulls his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and trying to look as small as possible. He really is cute, like this, and Kyungsoo sighs again, trying to push his irritation back. It's not really Jongin's fault he's fallen for an overgrown giraffe with an annoyingly loud voice. "I uh, like him a lot, too," he says slowly, blushing even more.

“I know," Kyungsoo says and he smirks slightly when Jongin looks up at him. It makes Jongin laugh, and look a little less pathetic. "Tell him, before I tell him for you." That probably wasn't the best thing to say, but when Jongin bites his lip and gives a firm nod, Kyungsoo figures it's good enough.

Maybe he has a future in this match-making business after all.

 

 

 

The tension in the room between Chanyeol and Jongin in the following days is thick enough to cut with a knife. Anytime Kyungsoo is there with the two of them, it's always Chanyeol sending Jongin wistful looks when Jongin isn't looking, and Jongin returning them with a sad frown when Chanyeol's back is turned. Kyungsoo thinks he could sit on his bed with a bowl of popcorn and watch them try to reach out to each other and repeatedly fail and they wouldn't even notice him. It's highly frustrating and makes Kyungsoo wish he were rooming anywhere else. Even Baekhyun would be a better roommate at this point.

"Can't you talk to them?" Junmyeon says. "Chanyeol hasn't gone on about being a 'Kai fan' in like four days and I'm concerned."

"You're the leader," Kyungsoo snaps. "You talk to them."

"They're already going to you for advice so..." Junmyeon blinks at him, raising a fist to his cheek in an attempt to aegyo Kyungsoo into submission but Kyungsoo just narrows his eyes until Junmyeon drops his hand and takes a step back.

"They're not my responsibility," Kyungsoo says. "And I can't handle being around them anymore. Do you want to switch rooms?"

"It can't be that bad," Junmyeon laughs, patting Kyungsoo's shoulder in what is probably supposed to be reassuring but only makes Kyungsoo want to reach out and snap Junmyeon's wrist. Junmyeon leaves him after that with a quick, "Good luck!" and he takes a deep breath and calms himself.

He heads to the kitchen for something to drink, only to find Chanyeol having somehow trapped Jongin against the fridge, probably in the midst of getting something out of there when they'd both realized how close they were. Jongin is staring at him with wide eyes, and Chanyeol's gaze is drifting down to Jongin's mouth, but then Jongin is making a squeaking sound like a mouse and darting around Chanyeol and out of the kitchen empty handed.

If these two don't get their act together, Kyungsoo is probably going to set the dorm on fire.

 

 

 

"Switch rooms with me," Kyungsoo says, cornering Sehun as he comes out of the bathroom after his shower. Sehun stares down at him, towel over his head, and laughs. Kyungsoo glares. "What? I'm serious."

Sehun bodily shoves around him, the brat, and heads back toward his own room. "Why should I do that?"

"Because Jongin and Chanyeol are your friends and doesn't it pain you to see them so awkward and tense around each other? Don't you want to go over and help them out? You can take my place for a few days, I'm sure you can fix their problems," Kyungsoo says, trying to sound as magnanimous as he can.

Sehun just looks amused. "Are they bothering you that much, hyung?"

"I'm going to kill them," Kyungsoo says, seriously. Sehun blinks. "You should help me, before I resort to drastic measures."

Sehun shakes his head, tossing his towel onto the floor by his bed. Kyungsoo grimaces but doesn't dare step into the room to clean it. With Junmyeon's gross pile of clothes in the corner and Baekhyun's unmade bed, their room is a disaster zone Kyungsoo rarely wants anything to do with. Except now. Now he is desperate.

"Come on, Sehunnie," Kyungsoo says. "Just one night."

"I like my bed," Sehun says, like they're not all identical. "And even if they're my friends, I don't want to get involved. I already have to hear Jongin whine about how Chanyeol spends more time on the phone with Kris and less time around him. That's enough for me."

"You are entirely useless," Kyungsoo says.

Sehun just laughs again, adorably high-pitched. "Don't worry hyung, I'm sure they're gonna make out--I mean, make up soon."

But when Kyungsoo returns to his room to catch Chanyeol ruffling Jongin's hair, laughing loudly, and Jongin looks just as happy for all of three seconds before he seems to realize what's happening and promptly tries to bury himself under his blankets, he thinks that 'soon' is just not soon enough.

 

 

 

It's one of those "hot" days, when Chanyeol follows Jongin around like a puppy and Jongin lets him, curling against him in the van as they shuttle around place to place and smiling indulgently at Chanyeol when he trips over his own feet at practice. Chanyeol runs his fingers through Jongin's hair when he plops his head in his lap in the afternoon while they watch a drama on television and Kyungsoo feels like maybe everything has finally shifted into place. Because this, while disgustingly adorable, is infinitely more tolerable than when they're running around each other in fear.

Except later that night once Kyungsoo's in bed ready to sleep, finally feeling like maybe he can a good night's worth in because the air in the room has dulled down to something more manageable between his roommates, he hears Chanyeol whispering, "You can just sleep here."

Kyungsoo has his back to them; they'd been finishing up a movie on Chanyeol's laptop when Kyungsoo had turned in for the night, and now he wishes he'd waited. There's rustling behind him, the slight creak of the bed, and Jongin mutters, "Is...is that okay?"

Kyungsoo wants to roll his eyes but he's too tired. They're both just making things so much harder on themselves. When Jongin seemed to have taken Kyungsoo's advice to tell Chanyeol how he felt, Kyungsoo thought things would've been resolved quickly, but it's been days since that conversation and even if things are looking up, they're still far from where either of them want to be. Kyungsoo is going fucking crazy.

"Of course it is," Chanyeol says, and there's a light thump, probably from Chanyeol pulling Jongin into his bed. It's a good thing Chanyeol is so bold. "That's why I suggested it."

"Okay," Jongin murmurs and Kyungsoo sighs, closing his eyes and hoping that's the end of that.

Of course, life hasn't been very kind to him lately, so he's not sure why he expected anything different. They continue to whisper quietly to each other for awhile, discussing the movie they watched, before Jongin says, "That feels nice...your fingers in my hair." Kyungsoo can practically hear the blush in his voice.

"Good," Chanyeol says, "I...might like doing it. A lot."

Jesus. "If you guys are going to start making out now or something, please tell me so I can throw you out of the room first," Kyungsoo says calmly, but clearly enough that Chanyeol and Jongin both yelp in surprise and there's a loud thud from where one of them seems to have banged back into the wall. From Chanyeol's low groan, it was him.

"Hahaha hyung, that's funny, we were just uh, going to sleep," Jongin says. Chanyeol whines again and Jongin whispers, "Are you okay?" sounding terribly concerned.

Kyungsoo has had enough to be honest. He climbs out of bed and is a little vindicated at the way both Chanyeol and Jongin jump back like they're expecting him to attack them. Jongin is looking at him with those big, frightened eyes like when a loud noise goes off near him unexpectedly, so Kyungsoo figures maybe later. He just grabs a pillow and his blankets and goes to sleep on the couch.

 

 

 

Kyungsoo wakes up the next morning with a crink in his neck. He takes a long shower because he fucking deserves it and only gets out when Junmyeon starts banging on the door. Chanyeol and Jongin tend to sleep in late so he tries to be quiet when he returns to their room, but the second he sneaks inside, he realizes he had no reason to be. They're both definitely awake, if the way Chanyeol has Jongin pinned to the bed and his lips around Jongin's cock is any indication.

"Oh," Kyungsoo says, blinking at them. Chanyeol pulls off with an obscene pop and Jongin looks like he's torn between dragging Chanyeol back to his dick and wanting the world to suddenly swallow him up.

There's a long beat of silence in which they just stare at each other and then Kyungsoo snorts, tossing his sleep clothes into his hamper and grabbing a pair of jeans and a shirt. "Fucking finally," is all he says before he walks out without another word, because, really, what else is there to say at this point?

When Jongin and Chanyeol emerge some time later, holding hands, Jongin flushing in embarrassment while Chanyeol is positively beaming, Kyungsoo turns to the other three members and says, "So, I’ll be crashing on your floor for awhile, please clean your fucking room."


End file.
